A girls' independent school faces closure because of dwindling classroom numbers.

Trustees of the £1,115-a-term St Anne's High School, in Wolsingham, County Durham, warned parents of its 156 pupils last night that lessons will probably end next July.

Teachers and other staff had already been told that record summer exam results and a good Ofsted report had not been enough to attract the extra numbers the school needs to remain viable.

Headteacher, Sister Adrienne Shoulder, has been contacting other schools to find places for her 14 Year Ten pupils, who are at a crucial stage in their GCSE studies. Year 11 girls will be able to finish their GCSE courses.

Since it opened almost 110 years ago, St Anne's has been supported by the Catholic Sisters of Mercy, who are themselves experiencing falling numbers.

The school, which was open to boarders until 1984, takes pupils between the ages of three and 16.

Sister Dolores, the order's mother superior and chairwoman of the school's trustees, said: "It is a deeply distressing time for everyone involved with the school.

"The school's high standards of education and care for each pupil have earned it an enviable reputation, but, sadly, reputation is not enough these days.

"The requirements involved in meeting the demands of increasingly stringent regulations, falling pupil numbers and the decline in the number of vocations to the Sisters of Mercy all mean that we must look to the future realistically."

She said trustees would make a final decision after consulting parents and staff.

Sister Adrienne stressed that St Anne's was not in financial difficulties.

She said: "That would be an easier problem to solve, but numbers have dropped every year since the early 1980s and it makes it more and more difficult to provide our girls, especially the seniors, with a really broad curriculum.

"We don't know why families aren't choosing St Anne's. We can only assume it is something to do with our rural location. It is very sad because the school is part of the village. It is a very happy school, which is like a big family.

"We have a wonderfully loyal and committed staff, whose main concern is for the pupils.

"They have a strong bond with the girls and there is a great deal of mutual respect and affection. I have never come across such beautiful children.